Audience: Adults
REVIEWER: Dr. Tom
Snyder
DARK BLUE is a police
drama set amid the Rodney King
trial and subsequent riots in
Los Angeles during 1991. Told
mostly in flashback, the movie
plays somewhat unevenly and
lacks credibility at important
points, partly because of some
politically correct material
regarding stereotypes about
white racist cops.
As the jury
in Simi Valley, Calif. begins
deliberations on the four
white cops accused of beating
a black man named Rodney King,
veteran racist detective Eldon
Perry, played by Kurt Russell,
is assigned a high-profile
quadruple homicide during a
convenience store robbery.
Eldon tutors his rookie
partner, Bobby Keough, in the
ways of police intimidation
and corruption. Together, they
pursue the cold-blooded
killers.
Meanwhile, Assistant
Chief Holland, played by Ving
Rhames, threatens to end
Perry's brand of singlehanded
justice on the Los Angeles
streets. Perry's boss, the
leader of LAPD's elite Special
Investigations Squad, protects
his boy from Holland's
righteous onslaught. Little
does Perry know, however, that
his boss is also protecting
the two ruthless informants
who pulled the robbery on his
orders. When Perry starts
pursuing the leads back to the
two informants, everything
comes to a head as Los Angeles
erupts in flames.
Kurt Russell
is not always convincing in
his role as the mean and dirty
Eldon Perry. He's partly
saddled by uneven writing and
pedestrian direction which
turns the racism of Perry and
his fellow white cops into an
unconvincing, politically
correct stereotype of a good
ol' boys cabal. Thus, an early
scene shows Eldon and the
other elite white cops
drinking behind closed doors
while jovial racist attitudes
flow trippingly from their
tongues. The scenes with Perry
and his wife also come off a
bit amateurish, despite the
experience of the filmmakers.
The re-created scenes of the
riots, however, are
brilliantly done.
Ultimately,
DARK BLUE's moral elements are
undercut by its political
correctness and its excessive
foul language. Those familiar
with the Rodney King case know
that it was not as cut and
dried as this movie, and the
news media, make it
appear.
Please address your
comments to:
Alex Yemenidjian,
CEO
MGM/UA
2500 Broadway
Street
Santa Monica, CA
90404-3061
Phone: (310)
449-3000
Fax: (310) 449-3024

Summary:

DARK BLUE stars Kurt Russell in a police drama about corrupt, racist white cops set amid the Rodney King trial and subsequent riots in Los Angeles during 1991. DARK BLUE is an uneven, not always convincing police drama with some politically correct elements, brief nudity and excessive foul language.

Review:

DARK BLUE is a police drama set amid the Rodney King trial and subsequent riots in Los Angeles during 1991. Told mostly in flashback, the movie plays somewhat unevenly and lacks credibility at important points, partly because of some politically correct material regarding stereotypes about white racist cops.

As the jury in Simi Valley, Calif. begins deliberations on the four white cops accused of beating a black man named Rodney King, veteran racist detective Eldon Perry, played by Kurt Russell, is assigned a high-profile quadruple homicide during a convenience store robbery. Eldon tutors his rookie partner, Bobby Keough, in the ways of police intimidation and corruption. Together, they pursue the cold-blooded killers.

Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Holland, played by Ving Rhames, threatens to end Perry's brand of singlehanded justice on the Los Angeles streets. Perry's boss, the leader of LAPD's elite Special Investigations Squad, protects his boy from Holland's righteous onslaught. Little does Perry know, however, that his boss is also protecting the two ruthless informants who pulled the robbery on his orders. When Perry starts pursuing the leads back to the two informants, everything comes to a head as Los Angeles erupts in flames.

Kurt Russell is not always convincing in his role as the mean and dirty Eldon Perry. He's partly saddled by uneven writing and pedestrian direction which turns the racism of Perry and his fellow white cops into an unconvincing, politically correct stereotype of a good ol' boys cabal. Thus, an early scene shows Eldon and the other elite white cops drinking behind closed doors while jovial racist attitudes flow trippingly from their tongues. The scenes with Perry and his wife also come off a bit amateurish, despite the experience of the filmmakers. The re-created scenes of the riots, however, are brilliantly done.

Ultimately, DARK BLUE's moral elements are undercut by its political correctness and its excessive foul language. Those familiar with the Rodney King case know that it was not as cut and dried as this movie, and the news media, make it appear.